Ian B wrote:
Dave Hill wrote:
On Jun 2, 9:35 pm, "Ian B" wrote:
Roger Tonkin wrote:
In article ,
says...

Why why WHY do the farmers ALWAYS bleat hard times time and time
again?

Have you ever seen a poor farmer?

There are plenty of them around here, where hill farming of sheep
is the only possibility. Also we know that dairy farmers get less
per lire for their milk than it takes to produce (unless you run a
super farm!).

Then why are they producing it? Something economically wrong there,
isn't there?

Ian- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

It's probably because people in the UK don't want to pay the real
cost of their food, and farming for many is a way of life,
I'm sure you would love to have your milk from a super farm with 1000
or more cows kept in close confine, Almost battery conditions, or
brought in from who knowe where , where the animals are kept in
conditions that would be illegal in the UK.
A lot of dairy farmers are going out of buisness
http://www.nebusiness.co.uk/farming-...1140-24702521/

As I said, it's just inefficeint farmers complaining then, and using
animal welfare as a crowbar.

Yes, I want my milk from the best source available; a "super farm" or
what have you. Of course I want to pay the "real cost"- not the cost
of maintaining some rural romantic in his idyll. A farm is a food
factory, not a cow sanctuary. If state regulations are forcing
farmers to be inefficient compared to their competitors, those
regulations are the problem. Get rid of them.

The point is, inefficient producers going out of business is a *good
thing*. It is the only reason we have economic growth.

Sorry, forgot one point. If there is a market for cow-friendly milk; if
there are consumers who care about the care of the cows and are prepared to
pay a little more for their cow-friendly milk, then there is a simple
answer; market it as such. Advertise it as milk produced by happy cows, the
same as organic food or dolphin-friendly tuna.

Let consumers decide what price they want to pay; cheaper factory milk or
more expensive cow-friendly milk.

I suspect though that most people don't give a damn, but the market can soon
give an answer on that, one way or the other.


Ian